Up, Down, and All Around
by starwandmagical
Summary: DracoHermione, HarryGinny.Neville disappears.The death of Lucius drives Draco to switch sides in the war in order to avenge his father.Harry fights side by side with Draco and Ron in the second war against Voldemort.Full summary in bio.
1. Night of the Ball

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing + distributing of the books.  
  
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC Rating: R Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year.  
  
-Malfoy Mansion- 4pm  
  
In the dim spacious room, the only light source peeking through the cracks in which the heavy thick window curtains meet, Draco Malfoy laid sprawled on his king sized bed, hands tucked underneath his head. Gloomily he studied a bump in the ceiling while contemplating whether he should  
  
feign sickness and miss the ball or attend with his family and suffer the night watching purebloods "mingle" with Mudbloods and even worse, Muggles  
  
The Ministry of Magic decided to announce a ball where all wizards and witches of England and Scotland, accompanied by their families (the family members don't have to have an ounce of magic in them) could meet and improve relations, while the muggle parents can have the "opportunity of further understanding what the wizarding world is all about".  
  
Wincing at the thought, Draco sat up just as his door opened. Lazily turning, Draco saw the unmistakable shadow of his father even before the door was wide enough to show the person's identity clearly.  
  
"Draco, I have something to discuss with you."  
  
Knowing his father stresses the importance of standing up and facing him while he spoke, Draco quickly stood up and straightened his already ramrod straight back.  
  
"Is this about that horrendous ball the Ministry is holding?" Draco said.  
  
Lucius studied his son with knowing eyes. "You are not going to feign sickness. This ball is important."  
  
"How so? Dirtying myself, surrounded by those Muggles and Mudbloods. There's absolutely nothing to be gained by going." Draco retorted.  
  
"The Ministry believes the Dark Lord has decided to lay low since he didn't make an appearance since the Triwizard Tournament. At a gathering as diverse as tonight's do you really think Lord Voldemort is going just let this chance slip by? One year of planning to seize the reigns of power and of course, planning the downfall of Potter, isn't going to spoil his mood to see some Mudbloods and Muggles meet their end."  
  
Arching a brow, Draco could see the importance of the ball now that his father has shed a new light on the event, he still couldn't see why he had to go. "And we have to go because?"  
  
"Because we are there to support our Lord and by not being there in the first place would arouse the Ministry's suspicions. We are one of the oldest, most prestigious wizarding families there is, we are expected to show up." Draco sensed rather than saw, the flash of irritation starting to show in Lucius' eyes.  
  
Sighing inwardly Draco nodded. "I'll be ready at 5."  
  
"Good." With that, Lucius left, the door closing behind him with a click.  
  
-Granger Residence- 5pm  
  
"Mum! Stop fussing with your hair, you look beautiful." Hermione laughed as she stood in the doorway of the master bedroom. Her mother sat in front of the vanity, makeup of all sorts spread in a disarray in front of her. Her father was in the private bathroom, shaving away at any sign of stubbles on his face.  
  
"Ok, Ok, I'm done. Oh dear, I'm so excited! A ball, can you imagine?! All the people we would meet, all the different things we'll encounter, I can't wait!" Mrs. Granger gushed on, feeling like a teenager again.  
  
"Calm down. At the rate you are going, you'll be too tired to do anything when we arrive." Mr. Granger stepped out of the bathroom, chuckling.  
  
Mrs. Granger rushed over and grinned up at her husband, watching him tying then loosening his tie repeatedly.  
  
"Here, let me do it." She pushed his hands away and quickly finished the job.  
  
"Come on Mum, we got to go to the living room, to wait for the escort to apparate and lead us to the portkey."  
  
Hermione had straightened her hair and left it down naturally. She wore a red satin sleeveless dress, with slits on both sides up to her knees, which hung simply straight down to her ankles and had matching shoes to go with it. Adorning her ears were a pair of earrings made of white gold, dangling straight down. On her wrist was a silver bracelet and to top it all off, a silver necklace with the astronomical sign for Virgo was around her neck. The only makeup she had on was lip-gloss and mascara. After all, she was just going to see her friends, plus she hated having gunk on her face.  
  
Mr. Granger hustled everyone downstairs into the living room where right on the dot of 6pm, appeared an escort.  
  
"How do you do Hermione, Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger? I believe that you three are the only ones from the Granger family attending, correct?"  
  
Hermione's eyes widened and she grinned as she put on a jacket. "Percy!? I didn't know you volunteered to be an escort!"  
  
Mr. Granger smiled, "No other relative knows about Hermione being a witch other than my wife and me. So naturally, only the three of us are going. How is your father doing?"  
  
"Fine thank you. You'll be meeting him shortly. Let us go now. The other families in this area are gathering at the same portkey as us."  
  
Hermione led the way out of the house and Percy took over, walking with his head high and chest puffed out with importance. Hermione saw the back of Percy's robes and burst out into laughter. Across the back of his dark robes shimmered the words "Kick me, I'm important."  
  
~Fred and George must've done that.~ she thought.  
  
"Ahem, Percy? You should check the back of your robes."  
  
Percy abruptly stopped, dreading what he would find. Pulling his robe off, he saw the words and started to scowl. Taking out his wand, he muttered a spell to erase the charm and putting back on his robes, he said through clenched teeth, "Those two are going to get it when I see them."  
  
Hermione smiled and Percy started to lead the way again. Leading them to a deserted parking lot, he looked around and spotted a water bottle at a corner.  
  
"Come along. My family is already there waiting for your arrival." He said and Hermione told her parents to be prepared to maintain their balance.  
  
Hearing voices Percy looked back and saw another group heading their way. He waved to the escort of that party and turned back around, telling Mr. and Mrs. Granger how the Portkey works.  
  
All four of them reached out a hand and at the count of three, touched the bottle and were whisked away. 


	2. Where's Harry

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing + distributing of the books.  
  
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC Rating: R Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year.  
  
After the world was right side up for Hermione, she heard the gasps of her parents as they viewed the room around them.  
  
Percy straightened his clothes looking pleased with himself for a job well done.  
  
A wizard came out behind a counter and smiled at them, checking in their coats.  
  
Leading them to a heavy door, he pulled it open and Hermione's eyes widened at the size of the ballroom. It could fill a whole football field! Some families had arrived already, and the clinking of champagne glasses and scattered voices of people chatting could be heard. Classical music wafted softly through the background. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling high above and candles floated around a few feet above their heads.  
  
"Welcome to the 1st Annual Gathering of Magical Families. May I have your names?" A witch smiled up at them from the table set next to the doorway.  
  
"Hermione Granger."  
  
"Elizabeth Granger."  
  
"Kyle Granger."  
  
"Hmm." Waving a wand at the book of names, the pages flipped automatically to the page in which the Granger's names were on and marked a red check next to their names. Finished, the witch waved them on. "Enjoy the ball!"  
  
Percy grinned and leaned down to give the witch a hug. "You look beautiful, Penelope."  
  
Penelope returned the hug. "Thank you. I already checked your family's names on the list, including you, since I know you'll be here anyway."  
  
"May I have the first dance later?" Percy asked.  
  
Flushed with pleasure, Penelope nodded and shooed him away. "I have a job to do, Percy."  
  
Hermione looked around, trying to find her friends. Her parents stuck close to her, nervously glancing around.  
  
"HERMIONE!!!"  
  
Hermione looked in the direction of the shout and smiled, tugging at her parents' hands. "Come on mum, there's the Weasleys."  
  
Arriving by the group of red heads, Hermione discovered to her irritation that Ron has grown taller than the last time she saw him in June. Her head only reached his shoulders and she had to look up at him. Mr. and Mrs. Granger started chatting with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, relieved that they finally met some grown ups they know.  
  
"Hey shorty." Ron grinned down at her.  
  
"Shut it Ron. How've you been?"  
  
Ron motioned to his whole family proudly, all in new dress robes. "Fred and George's new shop has been getting a lot of business lately. And you know how Dad got promoted to the head of the newly formed Muggle Protections office, in addition to Bill's raise? We all went and picked out new dress robes."  
  
Suddenly Hermione was squeezed between two identical red heads, also grinning down at her. "George, don't you reckon we should give her some of our Stretchy Sugar Straws?" "Hmm, now that you mention it Fred, I think I have some right here for Hermione. Just look at her, she must be so upset how she has to look up at our little Ronnykins."  
  
Hermione slapped them away playfully and laughed. "Nice to see you too guys. Congratulations on your shop."  
  
Turning back to Ron, she asked, "Did you see Harry anywhere? I was wondering how in the world he would be able to attend."  
  
Shaking his head, Ron frowned. "Last owl I received from him, he mentioned his aunt fainting, his uncle getting drunk, and his cousin wrapping 10 sheets around his waist shouting something about pigs tail."  
  
After greeting the rest of the Weasley family, Ron and Hermione decided to walk around to search for Harry and other friends.  
  
"Wait!"  
  
Hermione turned around. Ginny hurried to their side and grinned sheepishly. "I was getting so bored standing there. May I walk around with you two?"  
  
"Sure, Gin." Hermione replied.  
  
10 minutes later of chatting with school friends and their families, Ginny said in a worried voice, "Do you suppose Harry's uncle did something to him?"  
  
"I don't think so. Harry's uncle wouldn't dare risk a crowd of wizards and witches storming down his house in rage." Ron said.  
  
Hermione agreed and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of pale gold. Both dread and annoyance started to fill in her as she pulled at Ron's robes and asked, "Ron, when they said old wizarding families, they meant ALL the old families? Including the Malfoys?"  
  
Having spotted the familiar slicked back hair himself, Ron nodded grimly.  
  
Ginny frowned. "Doesn't matter. We're all here for fun; don't let Malfoy bring your spirits down. Come on, let's just avoid that area."  
  
"Good idea, Ginny." Hermione said.  
  
---Draco's POV---  
  
"You look beautiful tonight." I said as I lifted the blushing girl's hand and kissed it.  
  
"Thank you, Draco. Honestly, the only reason I came was because I couldn't let other self-respecting purebloods like you suffer through the night alone."  
  
Nodding, I turned my attention away from the eldest daughter of the Kincaid family and scanned the room, taking note of the new arrivals.  
  
"Draco, you look handsome as usual. Must've gotten your good looks from Lucius, eh?" Mrs. Kincaid said, sticking out her hand for me to shake.  
  
Suppressing a bored sigh, I took her hand and leaned forward to give her a peck on the cheek. Releasing her hand, I stepped back as she turned to my father. Going through the same motions, she stepped back smiling. "Like father, like son. Perfect manners, good breeding, and such gentlemen. Such a shame that there are so many pure-blooded families that forget who they are, mingling with those---Muggles." She said the word with a slightly wrinkled nose.  
  
Deciding to go off for a stroll around to stretch my cramped muscles from the ride here by stagecoach, I excused myself from the Kincaids.  
  
Walking around, suddenly smack right in front of me a few feet away was Granger, Weasel, and his little sister. Funny really. Something's missing from that picture. Ah, yes, where's Potter? Who cares, I should have some fun while I'm here. 


	3. Insults

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing + distributing of the books.  
  
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC Rating: R Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year.  
  
-Hermione's POV-  
  
Looking around worriedly for Harry, Ginny tensed next to me and poked my arm, motioning for me to turn around.  
  
Having a feeling that I'm going to come face to face with Malfoy, I turned stiffly, ready to give him a glare and get rid of him as fast as I could.  
  
So I did. I mean, I did turn and glare at him. That was at far as I got because somehow my mind ceased to function while looking at Malfoy. The jerk had grown even taller! He is the same height as Ron now.. honestly this is a conspiracy!  
  
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Granger, Weasley, and Potter's girlfriend." Malfoy said, a smirk starting to form.  
  
"What do you want, Malfoy?" I heard Ron ask with pure venom in his voice.  
  
Malfoy ignored Ron. "Where's your boyfriend, little weasel?" he asked Ginny.  
  
Her face quickly flushed and she angrily replied, "He isn't my boyfriend!!"  
  
"Oh yes, I forgot, even someone as low as Potter doesn't want you." He said chuckling.  
  
I mentally shook myself out of the daze and found my voice. "Shut up, Malfoy! We pretended we didn't see you and you could do the same with us."  
  
-3rd person POV (author's)-  
  
{Did Granger just tell me to shut up?} Draco thought.  
  
His eyes flashing with irritation, he stepped up closer to Hermione and sneered down at her. "Who the hell do you think you are? You're nothing but a little mudblood, giving you no right to even breathe the same air as I am. Hell, you are nothing but a dirty bit-"  
  
Suddenly Draco felt the familiar heavy weight of the snakehead on his father's cane land on his shoulder. (Borrowed that idea from chamber of secrets movie, I loved the idea of the cane) Feeling pressure being exerted from his father to his shoulder, Draco knew that if he didn't move away quickly, there would be hell to pay later. Still, it didn't mean Draco had to look pleased about it. So he allowed himself to scowl and be nudged aside to stand in the background while the appearance of Lucius made Ron, Ginny, and Hermione squirm uncomfortably.  
  
"Well, well, well-what do we have here?" Lucius sneered. Picking out Hermione first he stepped closer to her, not attempting to hide the loathing that shone out of his eyes. "Miss. Granger. It's been a while. Tell me, how are your parents? I don't believe I saw them around yet."  
  
Hermione glared daggers at Lucius and replied, "They're absolutely fine."  
  
"Unfortunately." Lucius ended the conversation coldly.  
  
Completely ignoring her now, Lucius turned to Ron and Ginny. "What's this? New dress robes? Draco has told me all about the dress robes you had Weasley. What was it? Frills? Laces? Now you are flaunting your small fortune around. Goodness." He chuckled.  
  
Ron flushed and glowered at Lucius. Ginny looked around nervously, hoping to see someone come and save them from this particular predicament.  
  
"Ah.... the youngest Weasley."  
  
Ginny gulped and turned back to face Lucius.  
  
Lucius reached out a hand and lifted Ginny's chin. "Tsk tsk..such a pity, really. You might have been something if it weren't for your parents. Hmm..being the only female besides your mother in the household does have its merits doesn't it?"  
  
"W-what do you mean?" Ginny stammered.  
  
"What do I mean? Why, unless I am mistaken, you have 5 brothers. And with a family like yours..don't things get rowdy from time to time? Enlighten me, girl, do you enjoy it?"  
  
Draco raised a brow, not even he would go that far. His father is certainly taking a risk talking so openly in public.  
  
Ginny, still not comprehending the veiled insult behind the question, stared in confusion while she heard Ron hiss in fury.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, I suggest you apologize to Ginny for that remark." A new voice joined in.  
  
Everyone glanced toward the voice to see Harry standing there in a rumpled oversized suit with a faded tie. On his face, was a determined expression, eyes focused directly on Lucius.  
  
Letting go of Ginny, Lucius smiled at Harry. The gesture didn't reach his eyes, which were radiating with malice.  
  
"Mr. Potter."  
  
Harry nodded, but the scowl on his face didn't fade. Lucius shrugged one shoulder lightly and smirked at Ginny. "I apologize Miss. Weasley." Then he turned and walked away.  
  
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione said, relieved.  
  
"That bastard. Talking like that to Ginny!" Ron fumed, forming a fist and shaking it.  
  
Ginny placed a hand on Ron's shoulder. "Ron, its ok. Remember, he's just a Malfoy."  
  
"Potter, what the hell are you wearing?" Draco interrupted. He was annoyed at how they forgot his presence there. In addition, Potter looked ridiculous!  
  
Harry looked down and felt heat on his face. "Err...." The Dursleys would not let him wear his dress robes, saying that they didn't want to be seen with a freak. So instead, he was forced into one of Dudley's old suits and Uncle Vernon's faded tie.  
  
"That's a suit. Muggles wear it, don't you know that?" Hermione said, saving Harry.  
  
"I know THAT. What I was referring to is how idiotic Potter looks in that..oversized, wrinkled..ancient..thing."  
  
"Its not Harry's choice of clothing. His uncle probably forced him to wear it." Ron said, coming to Harry's defense.  
  
Draco snickered. "Another example of why Muggles shouldn't exist."  
  
Satisfied that he made the group uneasy and that he was getting the last word. Draco turned to leave.  
  
"That git." Hermione muttered.  
  
"That git and his goddamn father." Ron corrected.  
  
Ginny blushed a little as she looked at Harry. "Hi Harry. How did you manage to be here?" Damn. She had been trying so hard not to act "lovesick" around him, as her brothers call it. She hung around Harry, Ron, and Hermione more and more since during her 4th year at Hogwarts, and didn't want to make situations awkward by revealing her infatuation any further. Everyone just assumed she stopped liking Harry in that sense.  
  
"Dumbledore had to write a letter, persuading them to let me attend. I didn't read it, but when Uncle Vernon gave me permission, he was yelling at me about not letting my crazed godfather near him."  
  
Everyone laughed and Ron slung an arm around Harry's shoulders while pulling him along. "Harry, you little midget. Come on, my mom was worried sick about you."  
  
Harry elbowed Ron good-naturedly. "Shut it, I am only 2 inches shorter than you."  
  
"Yea, making you still taller than me." Hermione grumbled.  
  
"Don't worry Hermione, you and I are the same." Ginny said, pretending to look angry with her brother and Harry.  
  
"I'm so scaaared." Ron teased.  
  
"Dinner is about to be served. Everyone please group to the sides and make space in the middle of the room. Tables and chairs will be set up." A voice boomed from somewhere near the front of the room.  
  
"Hurry up, slowpoke!" Ginny grinned at Harry and ran off in the direction of her family.  
  
"Was that a challenge?" Harry said, setting off after her. Hermione and Ron shrugged at each other and ran after the two. 


	4. John Smith

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing + distributing of the books.  
  
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC Rating: R Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year.  
  
After being fussed over by Mrs. Weasley, Percy quickly ushered everyone to the side, pressing as close to the wall as they could. Then a Ministry officer took out his wand and muttered a spell. Suddenly, round tables with white tablecloths and a candlelight centerpiece appeared all over the room. Chairs were conjured up next. Floating above the tables was the table number, glowing and transparent.  
  
"Ok everyone! Get settled, and dinner will be served."  
  
Harry sat down, mouth watering at the thought of dinner. Looking up he waved Ron, Hermione, and Ginny over to the table. But before Ron could take a step, the Ministry officer shouted. "Sorry everyone. Since this is a gathering for people to mingle and make new friends, we've taken on the task of assigning seats."  
  
Harry groaned and trudged back to his friends and waited for the instructions. He hoped he still got to sit with them.  
  
Other officials quickly spread to both sides of the room. Waving a wand and muttering words at each person, a number appeared and the person headed towards a table with the same number.  
  
Stopping in front of the Weasley family, an official asked who would like to go first.  
  
Soon, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fred, and George were assigned tables.  
  
"See ya' Harry." Fred and George said, giving a little wave then walking off.  
  
"Mr. Potter, its an honor." The official said, shaking his hand.  
  
Harry flushed a little and nodded. The wand came up with the number 13.  
  
"Well.I'm off. See yah." Harry said.  
  
Nodding Ron turned back to the man and got the number 20. "Aw shucks, its not close to Harry." He complained to Hermione as he left.  
  
Hermione received number 14. Ginny was assigned table number 16.  
  
Wistfully, Ginny watched as Hermione headed off to the table next to Harry's. {Lucky....} she thought, {I wonder who's going to be at my table?}  
  
Hermione sat down and turned around to wave at Harry. He grinned and waved back, the sleeves of his oversized suit flopping ridiculously.  
  
Suddenly both Hermione and Harry's expressions changed. Harry's changed because he saw Draco standing at Hermione's table with a disbelieving face. Hermione's changed because she saw Lucius heading towards Harry's table.  
  
{Um..ok, why is Harry looking at me like I grew another head?} Hermione thought. At the same time she heard Draco's voice muttering "Damn."  
  
{oh. That's why.}  
  
Discovering that Lucius is at his table, Harry turned his attention to his own problems, giving Hermione a sympathetic look, which she returned.  
  
Hermione took a deep breath and turned to face Draco. Since it's a round table, the furthest seat is the one right across from her. He sat down and glared at her.  
  
Exasperated, Hermione blew out a breath. "What the hell did I do?"  
  
Draco smirked and opened his mouth to start another argument when a voice cut through.  
  
"Absolutely beautiful. Stunning. Love, may I have your name?"  
  
Hermione blinked, and stared at the guy who sat down to the right of her.  
  
"Excuse me?" she probably didn't hear clearly.  
  
"I can not help but notice how lovely you look. Anyway I am assigned to this table so I might at well get to know the people I would be dining with."  
  
"My name is Hermione Granger." Hermione said blushing.  
  
"Your gorgeous, love."  
  
Draco snorted in disbelief. Yeah, he'll admit he had thought Granger attractive ever since her front teeth shrunk to normal size and he had seen her at the Yule ball, but this guy is annoying him! Draco was just getting ready to have a good verbal spar with Hermione when the prat interrupted.  
  
"You must be Draco Malfoy." The guy said.  
  
Arching a brow, Draco nodded.  
  
"My name is John Smith."  
  
Draco frowned, his intuition telling him there's more to this guy than is shown. Becoming more involved in the Death Eaters circle the past two years had expanded his knowledge not only on the dark arts, but also of how covert missions and spying worked. John Smith is a common sort of name. Common as dirt and just as forgettable. Altogether, a great name to hide behind.  
  
It could be just a coincidence and he was overreacting but Draco doubted it.  
  
"Thank you for the flattering comments." Hermione said, wondering if her face matches her dress now.  
  
John grinned and Hermione saw a flash of white teeth.  
  
John reached over and took one of Hermione's hands. "Sweetheart, would you please honor me with a dance later on?"  
  
"Err...I-I guess so."  
  
"Thank you. To be able to hold an exquisite creature such as you in my arms would be like heaven."  
  
"Uh...Thanks." Hermione mustered out, pulling her hand away gently. This guy is coming on so fast! And if he kept up commenting on her like this, it would get so annoying.  
  
Draco smirked when he noticed how Hermione pulled her hand away quickly. It gave him a sense of satisfaction but he didn't know why.  
  
"I guess no one else is assigned to this table." Hermione said miserably.  
  
"What's wrong, Hermione?" John asked.  
  
"Oh, nothing really, I was just hoping there would be another girl to talk to, that's all." Hermione replied.  
  
"Fortunately for me, there isn't. I wouldn't be able to stand your girlish giggling and gossiping." Draco said.  
  
Frowning, Hermione opened her mouth again to retort. But this time, she was interrupted again. The lights were turned off and the only light came from the candles.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, the speeches will begin."  
  
While listening to the endless droning, food appeared on the plates and everyone ate quietly.  
  
Draco yawned and stared off into nothing, ignoring the dirty look Hermione sent his way.  
  
{When is Voldemort going to fucking do something? Its BORING here.} he thought.  
  
As if on cue, suddenly there was an explosion where the doors are and screams filled the air. 


	5. Confusion

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing + distributing of the books.  
  
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC Rating: R Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year.  
  
The chandelier lights all went out and a gust of wind blew through, extinguishing all the candles.  
  
Harry heard familiar voices shouting and herding everyone to safety, attention paid mostly on the Muggles. Among those voices he could make out the voices of Dumbledore, McGonagall, Fudge, among other professors. Adult wizards had their wands out with the tip glowing and all Harry could see were shadows of people moving in every which direction. Suddenly he felt someone grab him by the waist and a hand covered his mouth to keep him from shouting.  
  
"Mmmmph!" He struggled against the confining arms.  
  
"Quiet boy. We wouldn't want Lucius over there to hear you being whisked away." A voice whispered next to his ear.  
  
Upon hearing the voice Harry stopped fighting and quickly went along with the person.  
  
"How about others?" Harry asked.  
  
"The objective is to get you out first. Ask questions later." Snape roughly said as he deposited Harry in a dark corner far away from where the explosion as been and a big dog appeared next to him.  
  
"Sirius." Snape acknowledged with a nod and then disappeared into the panicking crowd.  
  
Sirius changed from a dog to a man and took out a wand. He muttered a spell and waved his wand at the wall and a small door appeared. He opened the door and Harry quickly ran in.  
  
Closing the door behind them, Sirius quickly performed the sealing spell, and in place of the door was the wall once again.  
  
"Lumos" Sirius said.  
  
"You alright there Harry?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Yes, but what about Hermione, Ron, and Ginny?"  
  
"They'll be retrieved to safety. We cannot allow them to be captured for they have information that You-Know-Who would want. For now, run!" Sirius grimly said.  
  
"But-"  
  
"No buts Harry. I can't promise you that everyone will be alive or well when after this attack, but you are my duty. Under my watch, you will not be harmed. Understand? Now come on!"  
  
Harry hesitated but nodded. He ran down the small tunnel, knowing that Sirius is right behind him. The passageway curved right, left, and even deeper down into the earth. After running blindly for what seemed like hours, the tunnel slowly, but surely, inclined upwards.  
  
Legs numb, sides aching, Harry knew that the entrance was near. A dead end appeared and both came to a halt, trying to catch their breath and listening for anyone that had followed them.  
  
Harry tried to listen for any sounds on the other side and couldn't hear any.  
  
Sirius made the doorway appeared and Harry opened the door to face a giant red tapestry. Pushing the heavy material aside, he realized that they were in the common room of the Gryffindor Tower.  
  
The wall replaced where the door was and Sirius shoved the tapestry back in place. Both collapsed on the couches and stared into the fireplace, a myriad of thoughts plaguing their minds.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The food was wonderful. The speeches were inspirational and Hermione strongly agreed with the fact that Muggle parents of children with magic should be more in touch with the magical world. The ministry is offering the parents subscriptions to the Daily Prophet.  
  
Everything was fine of course, until she saw Draco yawn and stared uninterested into space.  
  
Shooting him a disapproving look, Hermione was about to talk to him when suddenly there was an explosion where the doors are and screams filled the air.  
  
Forgetting about Draco, Hermione frantically looked to where Harry sat and she started to move towards him when the place was plunged into darkness. Every adult wizard cast the Lumos spell and Hermione took a deep breath. Looking back for Harry she discovered he was gone. Panic started to set in.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione yelled, head whipping around, eyes scanning through the mob of people, trying to adjust to the darkness. The blinding glow of the occasional wand that flashed past her made her blink and still she stumbled for Harry's table and gripped the table.  
  
"Harry, where---" {LUCIUS! He probably arranged to be seated at Harry's table so when the Dark Lord bursts in, he can grab Harry easily.}  
  
{But where is Lucius? Malfoy would know.} she thought.  
  
Turning to face where Malfoy was, she almost rammed into Malfoy's chest. He looked down at her, a ghost of a smirk on his face.  
  
"Where's your father, Malfoy?" she demanded.  
  
Draco shrugged.  
  
"I wouldn't be surprised if you were lying. I KNOW that you know where Harry and your father is. Where are they!?"  
  
"How would I know? You should be worrying about yourself Granger. You might have become better looking but Voldemort doesn't care for that." Leaning down slightly, he sneered. "Little Mudblood. That's what you are."  
  
Hermione angrily glared back up into his eyes, their faces only a few inches apart.  
  
Neither one was willing to give in and everything around them faded away. Hermione only knew the anger and burning frustration that seethed within her and Draco only knew that his father placed him at that specific table for a reason and no way in hell was he going to let the Mudblood go. Blurred shapes rushed past them and Hermione found herself getting lost in the gray-blue eyes that she was looking into. For the most part, she can't see his eyes clearly in the darkness, but when lit wands whooshed by, his face was lit up by a soft glow for a moment and she could see the way his eyes seemed steel gray one moment and if she moved a bit, bits of blue would shine through.  
  
"Hermione!" a voice broke through. Draco wrenched himself from looking into her eyes and narrowed his own in the direction of Ron.  
  
Ron dashed up to Hermione and grabbed her arm. "Where's Harry? Are you ok?"  
  
Hermione tear her eyes away from Malfoy's face and focused on Ron as if it was the first time she saw him. "Ron."  
  
"Hermione. Are you ok?" Ron worriedly repeated.  
  
Snapping out of her dazed state. Hermione nodded furiously then grabbed Ron's robes. "Ron. I can't find Harry. I-" eyes widening, she gasped. "Where's Ginny?!"  
  
"Hermione! Right here!" Ginny broke through, running over. Ron gave Draco a cold look. "What are you doing here Malfoy? Helping your Lord murder people?"  
  
A person rushed past Draco, but had discreetly tapped him in the back. Draco didn't flinch when he felt the unexpected tap but he got the message. What his father's purpose for wanting Draco to stall Potter's friends, Draco didn't know but he knew that its time for him to remove himself from the area.  
  
To Ron, Ginny, and Hermione, they didn't see anything unusual that went on, only that one person came dangerously close to knocking Draco down. Ron had started asking Ginny if she was ok and Hermione was telling Ron all she knew. When Hermione glanced at where Malfoy stood by her side, she found no one there. 


	6. New Representation

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing + distributing of the books.  
  
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC Rating: R Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year. I know now that the fifth book is out, a lot of the facts or events in the story are not true anymore. But just look at it as a semi-Alternate Universe ok?  
  
"So you're telling me that you let the Potter boy get away." Voldemort calmly said, eyes locked onto the bowing form of Lucius Malfoy.  
  
"Yes. But he had help." Lucius quickly said.  
  
"That doesn't matter. We had expected that precautions would have been set in place by Dumbledore to ensure the safety of the boy. You failed anyway."  
  
Lucius kept silent.  
  
"You had promised me the boy. I had trusted you to complete this mission." Voldemort said, his voice was laced with anger.  
  
"My sincere apologies, my lord, but-"  
  
"No buts! If you failed this time, who knows what stupid blunder you'll make next time."  
  
"I have been loyal to you for so long, my lord, please-"  
  
Voldemort's cold laugh stopped Lucius. "Loyal? You dare utter that word? Weren't you the one who claimed you were innocent of all acts under me? While my other followers were suffering loyally in Azkaban, awaiting my return?"  
  
Lucius trembled in fear at the mounting anger in Voldemort's voice.  
  
"I have reached the end of my patience for you, Malfoy. Let's just hope your son had turned out better than his old man."  
  
Raising his head, Lucius made eye contact with Voldemort. "Please! My lord- "  
  
"Avada Kedavra."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Master Draco, there is a message for you."  
  
Draco glanced up to see the house-elf holding a sealed envelope. He took it and waiting until the house-elf left.  
  
Turning it over, he broke the green seal with the print of a snake on it. Sliding the paper out Draco's eyes quickly ran over the words.  
  
"To Draco Malfoy:  
  
The Dark Lord wishes to inform you that Mr. Lucius Malfoy has been eliminated due to his display of incompetence. The Dark Lord now will count on you to represent the respectable Malfoy family. Do well and be well rewarded, Mr. Draco Malfoy. You are to be reminded that your marking ceremony is at the end of your 6th year at Hogwarts.  
  
You know what to do with the message upon completion."  
  
The room was quiet. A few minutes later, the scent of paper being burned wafted out the open windows.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
After the attack that night, Harry had gone back home to pack and immediately left to live at Hogwarts for the remainder of the summer. The strange thing was that as swift as the attack had happened, the Death Eaters had retreated. The Ministry finally decided to face the fact that Voldemort is back and had warned everyone to be cautious and alert. Except for a few injuries, there had been no deaths resulting from the attack. Extra security measures were taken with the Weasley's and the Granger's, since they were close to Harry. Everything seems to be fine, except there was one person missing from the attack. That person was Neville Longbottom. 


	7. Prefects Meeting

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing + distributing of the books.  
  
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC Rating: R Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year.

I know now that the fifth book is out, a lot of the facts or events in the story are not true anymore. But just look at it as a semi-Alternate Universe ok?

**-A week after Lucius' death-**

Draco closed his eyes and sighed. Rubbing his temples, he cursed the fact that he had to take care of everything now that his father's gone.  His mother had kept herself in her room, declaring that she was grieving over the death of her husband. Appearances must be kept up after all, just incase someone comes to visit.  Narcissa wasn't really grieving.  She kept herself entertained by reading books in bed, sleeping, or dressing up and admiring herself in the mirror.  At least they had enough money in Gringotts to last 2 or 3 more generations in the Malfoy family, even if they don't earn any income.  Luckily financially, Draco didn't have to worry so much.  The Daily Prophet had reported the death of Lucius Malfoy and the cause was an illness of the heart. Draco kept his father's body from being examined and quickly had the body buried next to all the other deceased Malfoys.  

The school year was starting in 2 days and he was going to have to manage Death Eater business for Voldemort as well as schoolwork and the N.E.W.T.S.  His Father had always berated him for having lower grades than that Mudblood Granger.  Draco's grades were above average but not up to par with Granger's.  Narrowing his eyes in anger, Draco moodily put away the papers he had been going over in his father's study in the past week.  Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was 2am. Yawning, he shut the lamp and walked upstairs to his bedroom, where he fell asleep as soon as his head met the pillow.

**-Hermione's Point of View**-

After saying bye to my parents, I pushed my trolley casually against the barrier and fell through onto Platform 9¾. 

Looking around I saw, no actually I heard the Weasley family.  Fred and George were yet again in an argument with Mrs. Weasley about their joke shop.  She still thinks that it's not too late for them to look for a better job.  Mr. Weasley was on the side, trying to push the twins onto the train to get away from their mother.  Ron was standing with Ginny, both trying to look like they aren't part of the embarrassing group of people.  

Deciding to save them, I ran over with my trolley and waved.  "Thank goodness, it's Hermione." Ginny said, with a relieved expression.

Everyone else noticed me and the argument was forgotten for the moment.  The train was 5 minutes away from leaving so we all boarded the train and waved goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. 

Since Ron and I were both prefects, we had to leave Ginny.  

"It's ok, when your meeting is finished, just come look for me?" she assured us.

We nodded and headed for the compartment to attend the short meeting, where we discuss the passwords to the individual houses, among other things.

"Oh great." Ron muttered.  I stood on tiptoes to peer over his shoulders into the room.  Malfoy was the only one already in the compartment.  Seeing Malfoy I remembered that the Daily Prophet's article on Lucius Malfoy's death.  Feeling that maybe Malfoy would not be in the mood to pick on Ron and me, I whispered into Ron's ear, "Just ignore him."

Walking, I sat down not once looking at Malfoy.  A few seconds passed.  The silence was deafening. I sneaked a glance at him and my eyes widened.  He had dark circles around his eyes and that made him seem paler.  He seemed tired.  Apparently not tired enough, though.  Malfoy met my eyes with a stony glare.  Then he slowly smirked.  "Like what you see Granger?" I _cannot_ believe this coldhearted jerk! His father, as nasty as Lucius was, had died a week ago and here he is, acting like nothing happened?

Ron narrowed his eyes. "You are so full of sh-"

"Ron, don't use such language!" I cut him off.

Ron fell silent but continued to glare in Malfoy's direction.

"What Weasley? You listen to the Mudblood's every command now? Pathetic."

{What the hell is wrong with Malfoy?! He should know better than to pick a fight with Ron at a time like this.  Another prefect can walk in any minute..} I frowned.

Ron had leaped up with his fists clenched.  "You looking for a fight Malfoy?" he snarled.

Malfoy slowly stood up and crossed his arms. "How sweet. Granger's knight coming to save her."

"Watch out. You have no daddy to hide behind now." Ron angrily said.

Malfoy's gray eyes was full of cold rage and it looked like war was going to start.

I had enough, Ron was pushing it a bit too far.  Jumping up, I put both hands on Ron's chest and pushed him forcefully back down into his seat.  Whirling around I mimicked Malfoy's stance and a staring contest ensued.

I broke the silence first. "Malfoy, exactly what kind of sick pleasure do you get out of insulting us? I mean if you hate us so much, why don't you just pretend we don't exist?"

At that moment, the other prefects came in, along with the Head Boy and Head Girl. I sat back down, satisfied that I had gotten the last word.

After every one was seated, the Head Boy and Girl started on reviewing on the duties of a prefect.  Then we moved on to the House passwords. 

"The password this year for the Prefect's bathrooms is 'Summer Breezes'. When I call your house, one prefect from each house come up to me to get their password." The Head Girl announced.

"Hufflepuff." I watched as Ernie Macmillan get up and receive Hufflepuff's common room password.

"Slytherin."  Malfoy got up and arrogantly strolled over to where the Head Girl was sitting. A smirk appeared on his face as he got the password. It was probably something like 'Gryffindors suck'.  Harry and Ron had told me that the Slytherin password in 2nd year was 'Pure Blood'.

"Gryffindor."

I decided to go up since Ron was comfortable sitting there and the two new fifth-year Gryffindor prefects were too nervous to get up.

"Let's see…your password is 'Fidens Animus'." She said with a lowered voice.

Nodding I went back to my seat.

"What's the password?" Ron asked.  The other two Gryffindor prefects leaned in to hear.

"Fidens Animus." I said quietly.

"Okay. Let's get back to Ginny."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A/N: I'm not sure if its correct but 'Fidens Animus' is suppose to mean 'Courageous Spirit'.


	8. Sorting Hat's Final Warning

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing + distributing of the books.  
  
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC Rating: R Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year.

I know now that the fifth book is out, a lot of the facts or events in the story are not true anymore. But just look at it as a semi-Alternate Universe ok?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Following behind Ron and Hermione into the Great Hall, Ginny spotted Harry and unconsciously let out the breath she had been holding. He is safe. {Of course he is safe. He is at Hogwarts...where Dumbledore is.} After all, wasn't Dumbledore the only wizard that Voldemort was afraid of? But she knew from first hand experience that there are things that not even the sturdy enchanted walls of Hogwarts could keep out.

Ron sat down next to Harry and Hermione sat across from them. 

"Ginny, what are you doing, standing there? Come sit down." Hermione said.

Ginny sat down next to Hermione and raised her eyes to look at Harry. {Don't blush. Don't stammer. Don't make a complete fool of yourself. You've been successful for a year already. You can do this.} 

"Hey Harry. How are things going?" She was surprised at how steady and clear her voice sounded. 

Harry didn't even look up and mumbled dully.  "Hi Ginny. I'm fine, thanks." It sounded so practiced, as if many people had asked him the same question so many times that it was a reflex answer. Ginny gave him a small smile but he didn't notice. Feeling her stomach twisting and heart pounding, Ginny licked her lips nervously. She knew he had a lot on his mind, with Neville's disappearance and worrying about the safety of those who are associated with him...but couldn't he spare her one look? {Stop being selfish.} Ginny berated herself. Harry had given Ron and Hermione the same treatment.  Ron knew when to leave his friend alone and Hermione launched into a conversation about which N.E.W.T.S. she was considering taking.

Professor McGonagall appeared at the double doors leading into the Great Hall, with a line of new first year students behind her.  As she lead them towards the front of the room, where the teachers were sitting, everyone in the Great Hall fell silent, all watching the start of the sorting ceremony.  Bringing out a four-legged stool, Professor McGonagall placed a worn, dirty, pointed wizard's hat on top of the stool.  

After a few seconds had ticked by in silence, the hat opened its mouth and began to sing.  

_Last year I have warned you_

_I see that none had paid me heed_

_All I had sang went in one ear and out the other_

_"Oh the Sorting Hat's entertained us yet again" must be your thoughts I gather_

_I was made to fulfill the wishes of the Hogwarts Four_

_Gryffindor's wish for students full of bravery and chivalry_

_Ravenclaw's wish for students who were wise and eager to learn_

_Hufflepuff's wish for students who were unafraid to toil and remain loyal_

_Slytherin's wish for the students that were pure and believed that the ends justify the means_

_To continue the sorting I am not too keen _

_For I do not wish to be_

_The one to lead the beloved Hogwarts to its downfall_

_Yet I must do what I was made to achieve_

_Though my duty feels like a curse_

_To quarter the students each year with my verse_

_The Hogwarts Four couldn't see that a few select qualities doesn't make the person who they are_

_The Hogwarts Four couldn't see that it is all these qualities and more that makes a person whole_

_How glorious and magnificent the start of Hogwarts was!_

_I was there since the beginning to witness it all_

_United, we will stand and drive the threat away that is getting close to our walls_

_Divided, not only will we perish but so will everything else that is dear to you all_

_I warn you to heed the Sorting Hat's advice_

_This rift between houses needs to mend _

_Or else more than just Hogwarts will meet its end_

_I leave you this year with these words_

_And hope that we will see another year within this castle_

_Let the Sorting begin._

The Great Hall was silent.  The first years were wide eyed with apprehension, the older students were shocked by the song and the professors stared at Dumbledore, waiting for him to say something.

Every year's song was sang pleasantly with the exception of last year's when the Sorting Hat had felt honor-bound to give the school warnings.  It had sounded grave and regretful last year.  This year, every student, every professor, every ghost, every being in the Great Hall felt the anger present in the Sorting Hat's voice.  Its voice trembled at some parts with anger. At other parts, the Sorting Hat sounded wistful and sad.__

Urgent whispers erupted in the Great Hall as the students wondered if the Sorting Hat had just predicted the fate of all.

After the Sorting, Dumbledore cleared his throat. "The speech will come later, go on, eat."

Food appeared on the plates as always and the whole school started to chatter about what had happened.

Hermione could hear bits of conversation floating to her from the other tables while she silently ate. 

"What do you suppose the Sorting Hat wants?"

"Oi, didn't you hear? It sounds like the ol' hat wants the houses to work together or something."

"No no no- its probably just trying to scare us-"

"What do you _mean_ its trying to scare us, are you daft-"

Shaking her head, Hermione looked from Harry to Ron. Ron looked puzzled and shrugged his shoulders. "We need to talk about what the Sorting Hat meant. We really didn't pay attention to what it said last year, and it sounded pretty angry." Hermione said.

"Honestly, do you think a hat will be able to tell the future? Weren't you the one who dropped out of Divination?" Ron said.  Hermione pursed her lips and frowned at him. "This is different."

Harry agreed. "We'll talk back in the common room."

Soon, Dumbledore stood up to announce the usual start of term notices.  "Welcome new students, to Hogwarts, and welcome back to our older students. As usual, the Dark Forest is forbidden to all students or else they will face immediate expulsion this year. Mr. Filch, our caretaker, would like to remind all students that magic is not permitted in the corridors between classes and to check the list fastened to Mr. Filch's office door for the numerous other things that are also not allowed in the corridors. It seems to have become a tradition for a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher each year and we all hope that this returning staff member will be able to stay with us for a longer period of time.  Please welcome back Professor Lupin!"

The Great Hall went wild, applauding and whistling while some stood up on their seats to wave wildly.  Harry looked up and smiled at Professor Lupin, who smiled back.

Dumbledore smiled and raised his hands to quiet the students.  

"Yes, yes I know, this is great news but please do try to contain it until you arrive at your common rooms. The second important news I have for everyone is a new student is coming into our school.  Not as a first year, for she had home schooling her whole life.  She will join Hogwarts as a fourth year student. I am delighted to introduce Vera Pettigrew."

Color disappeared rapidly from Harry's face.  Ron and Hermione had dropped their forks with a loud clatter.  Ginny, who had been told the story about Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew a few months ago bit her lip and hoped that this new student isn't bad news.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

A/N: I'm sorry to those who haven't read the 5th book yet. The song I wrote for the Sorting Hat wouldn't make sense then.  

If you want to know what the song the Sorting Hat sang in the Order of the Phoenix go to this link, I typed the whole song up.

www.angelfire.com/anime5/last_regrets/sortinghatfifthyear

Also, I despise Mary Sues so rest assured that Vera Pettigrew will NOT be a Mary Sue.


	9. You Shall Be

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing + distributing of the books.  
  
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC 

Rating: R (for future)

Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year.

I know now that the fifth book is out, a lot of the facts or events in the story are not true anymore. But just look at it as a semi-Alternate Universe ok?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A girl came through the double doors leading to the Great Hall and students immediately craned their necks to get a good view of the new student.  Vera Pettigrew could feel all the eyes on her and she hope she won't trip and make a fool of herself.  That'll be a fantastic way to start the first day at Hogwarts.  She could almost imagine the only way people will ever know her by: "the girl who tripped over herself in front of the whole school".  But to her immense relief, she was nearing the teacher's table with no mishaps.

Resisting the urge to raise her hand and start chewing on her fingernails, a habit she had been trying very hard to get rid of, Vera finally reached the long table at the front of the Great Hall and managed a weak smile at Professor Dumbledore.  She wondered if it came out as a grimace instead.  Then she turned around to face the students.  Professor McGonagall brought out the Sorting Hat and fitted it on her head.  She had seen what the Sorting Hat does from the corridor outside the Great Hall and she was very nervous.  She had never been in a school after all.  The hat fell over her eyes and she found herself staring into the inside of the hat. Nothing happened.

{Is there something wrong with me…? Why is nothing happening…?????!} she thought, starting to panic.

"Relax, dear girl, don't get yourself all worked up. Its not good for the heart you know." A voice said into her ear.

She knew the hat would talk, but didn't know it would talk directly to _her_! She had jumped a little but managed to keep the yelp of surprise from coming out of her mouth.

{Errm…so…which House will I be in..? Oii..this is so weird, I am talking to a hat…}

"Well you've already heard the description of the Houses, what do you think?"

{I don't know, it's my first time in a school. A private tutor has taught me since I was eleven.}

"Your last name is Pettigrew?"

{Yes…}

"You had relatives that went here, yes?"

{Yes.}

"I particularly remember a Peter Pettigrew. Timid little thing really. Actually, one really can't call him 'little'…for obvious reasons." The Hat chuckled.

"Quite stubborn though, had insisted against my suggestion- more like advice really,-about which House he belonged to. "

{He was my uncle. My dad was his half-brother. Uncle Peter died before I was born, so I never met him unless you count pictures.}

"Well enough with the chit-chat. We must go on to the business of sorting. I apologize for deterring from the important task at hand."

Vera nodded.

"You lived a sheltered life. Hadn't had many friends I see. Well I guess that's perfectly normal, since you were home schooled. There's a great amount of curiosity within you.  Not much of a temper in you is there? Hmm…fiercely loyal to the people you care about.  Not really up for mischief…That's good, there's enough in this school to worry about…The truth is important to you…honesty holds much value in you I see…Yes…I know exactly which House will be good for you.  You'll make plenty of friends, no worries about  that. How do you feel about  the Hufflepuff House?"

{Well…I don't know really…what will happen if I don't like the House I am in?} Vera thought frantically.

"No worries. It's not as if you are only restricted to making friends within your own House. You'll do fine."

{Oh. Well…you seem like you know what you are talking about…I'll have faith in your decision.}

"Okay then…for you it shall be…-"

~ ~ ~ ~

Harry narrowed his eyes at the girl seated on the stool at the front of the Great Hall. 

"Maybe it's a coincidence…" Ron said, trying to make Harry relax.

"Yea and maybe Snape will come up to you and give you top marks in Potions." Harry replied.  Ron sighed. "Yea I know, too much to hope for."

"Come on guys, you haven't even saw the girl up close yet and you are judging her by her last name?" Hermione said, exasperated.

Ginny kept silent, she didn't really feel like this was a conversation she can join.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione had told her about the confrontation they had with Peter Pettigrew with Sirius Black and Professor Lupin, but the only person she's actually acquainted with was Professor Lupin.  Trying to push the feeling of being left out to the back of her mind, Ginny reminded herself that she was one year younger, so of course she wasn't even informed on all the adventures until a few months ago.  If she hadn't stumbled in on a conversation she wasn't suppose to hear between Harry, Ron, and Hermione, she would still be in the dark.  Well…there was one particular "adventure" she wished she wasn't part of but was. Shuddering, she pushed that thought away too.  She really didn't want to think about it.

"I bet she's going to be in Slytherin." Ron said.

Harry nodded slowly.

"Hush, don't you want to hear which House she's going to be in?" Hermione said, index finger held to her lips.

A minute later, the Sorting Hat yelled, "HUFFLEPUFF!!"

Ron and Harry's jaws dropped open in surprise.  

"There must have been a mistake- she's probably tricked the hat somehow!" Ron said incredulously.

Ginny shook her head. Her brother is so quick to judge others. But still…she looked over to see Vera sitting down at the end of the Hufflepuff table shyly.  {I'm only a year older than her. It won't be difficult to be friends with her and see what kind of person she really is.}

Hermione noticed Ginny was staring hard in Vera Pettigrew's direction. "A knut for your thoughts?" 

"Well…don't tell my brother and Harry, but I want to try to be friends with her. You know, just to find out…" Ginny drifted off. She was waiting for Hermione to start telling her why she shouldn't do this but to her surprise Hermione nodded in agreement. 

"I would like to do that too, it has crossed my mind, but I think you'll have an easier time making friends with her since you are closer in age. Just keep me up to date, ok?" 

"Ok. Remember. Not a word-"

"To Ron and Harry. I know." Hermione smiled.

Hearing their names, Harry and Ron looked up puzzled. 

"What about me and Ron?" Harry asked. 

"Oh nothing. We were just talking about how…err…" Ginny glanced at Hermione.

"How you two HAVE to be at our weddings." Hermione blurted out.

Harry and Ron stared at the girls.  "Have you gone _mad_? You two were talking about wedd-"

"Yes well, this is called girl talk.  Plus, you were the ones who asked." Ginny said, her eyes challenging either boy to disagree.

"Oh. Girl talk." Ron cleared his throat and gave Harry a look that meant 'I'll never figure out how a girl's mind works'.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

~ ~ ~

To those who don't know what a Mary Sue is, I am happy to be the one to inform you. The term "Mary Sue" describes an original character in a fanfic who is TOO perfect. Often Mary Sues have fantastic powers, are sexually desirable to everyone, they have no faults and are usually very beautiful and enchanting. These are usually heroines who step in without warning into a story, make one or more of the established characters fall madly in love with him/her all of the sudden and then proceed to save the day in truly remarkable and dramatic ways that leave the established characters gaping in admiration and amazement.  The already established characters that the original author has created (in this case, J.K. Rowling), fades into the background and the original character/Mary Sue dominates the entire story from her appearance to the very last chapter.  One sentence that sums it all up? Mary Sues are not believable characters.

If a writer decides to create an original character, I guess the important thing is that this character needs to give off the feel of a real person, with real faults, has limitations to what she/he can do, has his/her own little quirks, and defeats.

But this is not true of EVERY original character, and that's what I'm determined to do.  I would appreciate it if readers tell me when I am straying off into Mary Sue land with Vera Pettigrew.  
  


And…I know, I know…zero action between Hermione and Draco, and same goes for Harry and Ginny so far... I hope the readers don't mind the slow progress. Makes it more real…doesn't it? And I am aware that my chapters are agonizingly short, compared to many of the great stories out there, but I seem to be able to write faster that way. 

I want to thank everyone for the encouraging reviews. Till next chapter.

starwandmagical


	10. Memory Breaking and Breakfast

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing + distributing of the books.  
  
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC 

Rating: R (for future)

Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year.

I know now that the fifth book is out, a lot of the facts or events in the story are not true anymore. But just look at it as a semi-Alternate Universe ok?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Neville stared at the dungeon's floor blankly.  His hands were chained to the wall above his head, high enough so that his feet were about a foot off the ground.  His shoulders felt like they were going to dislocate and the Death Eaters were only giving him enough water to survive.  There was no food, unless you count the maggot-infested bread that Neville refused to eat.  And all this for what? Hell, he didn't know.  All he knew was that the night of the attack, he was suddenly stunned and when he woke up, he was here.  At first, he yelled for them to release him but when they threatened him with the Killing Curse, he learned to shut his mouth.  The days melted into each other and slowly, he just hung there, growing weaker by the day, fueled only by the hatred he had for the Death Eaters. {The Longbottom Line must be bloody cursed.}, he thought, bitterly smiling to himself. 

A rat scampered by, pausing to turn its red beady eyes on the boy.  A few seconds ticked by, then it scurried away into a dark corner.  Torches were attached to the walls so at least Neville could see if there are any bugs around.  Thankfully there weren't that much…

Suddenly he heard footsteps and muffled voices.  

"Master, we've been keeping him here."

"Open the door, Dolohov. I'll personally speak to the boy."

"Master, should my husband and I accompany you?" a woman's voice asked.  She sounded absolutely delighted, as if Christmas had arrived early for her.

There was a pause. Then, "Both of you may accompany me, since you were so…_close_, with the Longbottom family. Rookwood and Dolohov, you can stay by the door."

"Yes master," two male voices said.

The door was pushed open and Neville trembled.  Neville may be a forgetful and klutzy wizard, but a stupid wizard, he was not.  He knew whom he will meet face to face in a few moments.  Oh, he knew _that_. Problem is, he didn't know _why_ it was he, Neville Longbottom, who is hanging here in this damn dungeon.

Voldemort stopped a few feet away from Neville. Flanked on his right side was a thin, pale woman with straggly, messy black hair and heavily lidded eyes.  She could have been beautiful, if she wasn't so thin and if there wasn't an evil smirk twisting her thin lips.  On Voldemort's left side was a tall gangly man with black hair that was thinning and a crooked nose.  He had a gleeful look in his eyes, looking Neville up and down.

"Why, hello Longbottom." Voldemort said, watching the boy.

Neville whimpered and stared at the three with wide eyes.

"You can always join the Dark side and by being loyal to me, you'll have more power than you can ever imagine.  Just one word, Longbottom, and you will be released.  You will be given food and shelter and you will work for me."

Neville can only manage to shake his head furiously from left to right.  He was too scared to utter a word.

"No? Hmm…well, Longbottom, do you see these two faithful followers beside me?  You _do_ recognize them don't you?"

Neville nodded as he paled even more and his trembling increased.

"They will be very happy to get reacquainted with another member of the Longbottom line."

Neville knew who those two are. He knew, oh he knew.

Bellatrix Lestrange and Rodolphus Lestrange.  The two people of the four who had tortured his parents to insanity.  Of the four, one was dead; the other Neville didn't know what happened to, and the two people who were the ones largely responsible for landing his parents in St. Mungo's were standing right in front of him.  

Voldemort's expression suddenly changed from a mocking one to a cold determined one.  "I don't have time to waste on you, Longbottom.  Where is it?"

Bewildered, Neville stared back.

"Speak boy!"

"I-I…w-w-what are y-you t-t-t-talk-k-king ab-b-bout?" Neville finally stuttered out.

Voldemort sneered. "Don't pretend you don't understand what I am talking about. Frank and Alice Longbottom were two of the top Aurors of their time.  _Dumbledore_ has entrusted them with an item during the first war.  Even after I have been temporarily defeated by Potter-," he paused, disgust twisting his features, "Frank and Alice had kept the item.  Even with the Cruciatus Curse placed upon them; they would not give up the location or the contents of what they kept. I need that item! It will ensure Potter's demise, and my glorious rise to power."

With the mention of his parents, Neville felt fury slowly burning in him.

Voldemort's face faded away and he saw his dad lying in St. Mungo's bed, staring blankly at the ceiling and occasionally muttering nonsense.  He saw his mum slowly walking to him with her white hair tangled and framing her face.  She then held out her hand with a candy wrapper in it and happily offered it to Neville.  Gran had sighed and told mum to go back to bed.  Neville took the candy wrapper and quietly put it in his pocket.  He had boxes full of wrappers and little junk his mum gave him, stashed under his bed back at home.  If only he could see his parents look at him with recognition in their eyes, if only he could even for only one time, hear them say 'happy birthday!' to him, if only he could hear them say 'I love you, son' just once, just _once_, then he would never ask for anything else in his life.  Tears gathered in his eyes and ran down his face.

"I don't know what the fuck is up _your_ skinny half-dead arse, but I am telling the truth! I don't know what the hell you are talking about!" Neville yelled.

"May I suggest something, m'lord?" Bellatrix interrupted.

"Speak."

"I think the Ministry or Dumbledore, had placed a series of Memory charms on Longbottom.  He did witness his _poor _mummy and daddy's interrogation."

Voldemort nodded. 

"It'll take several days, but if there are Memory charms that were placed upon him, I can break it." Rodolphus Lestrange offered.

"No. I will personally break the Memory charms." Voldemort said.

"Yes m'lord."

Voldemort turned back to Neville with a cold smile. 

"Let's begin."

Neville's scream fill the room but the only people who heard it smiled in pleasure.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ginny jerked upright in bed, her pajamas drenched with sweat, her body cold and clammy, and her breaths labored.

She had a dream. Now that she was awake, she can't remember it anymore but she knew it was a horrible dream.  One filled with screams of pain and cruel laughter.  Putting a shaky hand to cover her mouth, she muffled her sobs.  She got up and made her way to the bathroom, collapsing onto the sink and splashing her face with cold water.

"It was just a dream…just a dream…" she muttered.

Crawling back into bed, she laid there unable to fall asleep.  It wasn't until early dawn, when the sky started to lighten, that her eyes closed and she whispered, "It was just a dream."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At breakfast, Ginny sat a while with her friends but she knew she wasn't much company, for all she said was "uh-huh", "wow", "yea", "interesting".  The rest of the time, she spent moving food around her plate and staring out the windows.

Hermione, Ginny noticed, was already down for breakfast with her nose buried in a book.  Harry and Ron were still getting out of bed probably.

Suddenly a messy pancake with dripping syrup somehow flew from the Slytherin table and went PLOP!, into the Hufflepuff table.

"What the fuck!!!!!" Justin said, glaring at the Slytherin table.  The victim was unknown for the moment as Hannah and Ernie stood up and roared "DETENTION!"

"For who?" the Slytherin table jeered.

Hermione stood up and went to the Slytherin table.  Starting from one end of the table, she slowly walked, inspecting every student.  Someone stuck their foot out but she rolled her eyes and stepped over it.  

"Looking for something, Granger?" Draco stood up, challenging her with his eyes.

"Yes. In fact, I found it." She suddenly grabbed someone and pulled the struggling, guilty one out of her seat.

"Ernie!" Hermione called.

"Yea?" Ernie grinned.

"Here's your culprit!"

Pansy scowled, her hands still sticky with syrup.  She had been trying to wipe them clean before Hermione grabbed her.

Ernie and Hannah walked over and glared at Pansy.

"For throwing food at a student intentionally, Pansy, you, have detention tonight.  You'll report to Professor Sprout at 8pm sharp!" Ernie said with a happy smile.

"Thanks Hermione." Hannah said.

Hermione nodded and before walking back to her table, she turned her head and smirked with satisfaction at Draco.


	11. Appearances Must be Kept

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing + distributing of the books.  
  
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC 

Rating: R (for future)

Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year.

I know now that the fifth book is out, a lot of the facts or events in the story are not true anymore. But just look at it as a semi-Alternate Universe ok?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As Hermione sat back down, she noticed Harry and Ron entering the Great Hall.  Apparently so did Ginny's friends.

"Gin, he's here!"

"Go on, go sit with him!"

"Don't worry, you can spend time with us later."

"Err…" Ginny said.  10 seconds later, she found herself seated next to Hermione.

"Mornin'." Ron and Harry said as they sat down.

"Potter, you missed all the action!" Justin said, yelling from the Hufflepuff table.  All the Hufflepuffs raised whatever they were drinking, whether it be milk, water, or juice, and saluted Hermione.  

Hermione grinned sheepishly and muttered. "I didn't do _that_ much."

"Um…Ginny, what are they going on about?" Ron asked.

"To make the long story short, Slytherin pancake with Slytherin syrup went splat right in Hufflepuff table.  Hufflepuff prefects didn't know which Slytherin to dish out the detention to.  Gryffindor prefect goes over to Slytherin table, grabs culprit and as a result, Parkinson has detention tonight."

"Ok…I think I got all that." Harry said.

Ginny stifled a yawn and resumed staring into her plate.  Sure, she had nightmares before, but somehow she felt this was different.  The feel, the terror, it felt like she was feeling someone else's emotions.  And that laugh, she shuddered, that laugh echoed in her mind.  Weird, but that laugh was so familiar…

"GINNY!" Ron said while Harry waved a hand in front of her eyes.  It was then; Ginny realized they've probably been trying to get a attention for a while.

"Y-yea?"

"You look horrible." Trust Ron to be so blunt.

"Thanks."

"Couldn't sleep?" Hermione said, looking at how pale and tired Ginny is.  There were faint dark circles around Ginny's eyes.

Ginny shrugged. Should she tell them about the dream? Ugh no, Harry would probably think how immature she was for being bothered by a nightmare.

"Bad dreams?" Harry asked, his green eyes on her.

Ron turned sharply to her. "Ginny, have you been having bad dreams again? You should have told me, remember what mum said? Or at least you should have sent a letter home."

"Back off, Ron. It's just one dream." Ginny said, trying to avoid Harry's eyes.

"Ron, what do you mean 'again'?" Hermione asked. 

Ginny glanced pleadingly at Ron, she doesn't want Harry and Hermione to know…especially not Harry.  He dealt with worse situations than her and he wasn't waking up every night gasping and shaking.  Unlike her, who frequently had nightmares after her first year at Hogwarts.  They had lessened over the years.  Now she thought about it, the last one she had was in the beginning of August.

Before Ron could answer, they were thankfully interrupted.

"Erm…excuse me." 

Since the person was standing behind Harry and Ron, they had to turn and look up before they almost had double heart attacks on the spot.

Vera stood there, unsure of how to begin.

"Yes?" Ginny asked.

"I just want to thank her for getting that Pansy girl." Vera said gesturing at Hermione. "You see, I was the victim of that pancake."

"Oh. Your welcome." Hermione said, looking a bit embarrassed.  "By the way, my name is Hermione Granger."

"And I'm Ginny Weasley."

"I'm Vera Pettigrew." After a moment of silence, Vera spoke. "Um…well see you around." With that, Vera turned to go back to her table.

Hermione raised an eyebrow when she noticed Ron and Harry both in shades of green.  "Guys. Please."

"Hermione, she is the enemy!" Ron said.

What the hell.  Her brother seriously needs some thrashing.  Ginny looked under the table to make sure she didn't kick Harry.  Aim.  Fire!

"Ow!" Ron yelped. 

"That's for being a stupid git." Ginny said.

"Ginny, you don't understand. You weren't there.  Peter Pettigrew is a nasty, despicable rat." Harry said, disgust in his eyes as he looked back at Vera.

"Of course I wasn't there. I was never there was I." Ginny stood up, suddenly angry.  "And I never will be." {in your heart…} she sadly thought. She gathered her books and pinned the slack-jawed Harry with one last poisonous glare.  "Just a reminder Harry Potter, you of all people should know not to pass judgment so fast on those who you don't know well." 

She turned and walked out of the Great Hall with her robes swishing around her.

Hermione hid her smile as Harry gaped after Ginny.  Ron, who had been hinting strongly all summer in his letters to Hermione that he thought Harry was the only guy good enough for his baby sister, grinned. "That's the Weasley temper." Ron said proudly, slapping Harry on the back.

"I suppose I have to apologize later." Harry was not looking forward to an angry Ginny.  But Ginny is one of his friends…he sighed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Draco finished breakfast and gathered his books together.  He had some business to do.  Looking around, he saw that Dumbledore's seat was vacant.

"Draco…why didn't you say something to the Mudblood???! Now I have detention tonight." Pansy whined.

Sighing, he turned back around to deal with Pansy.  He didn't particularly like the girl, but appearances must be kept.  The Parkinsons are better as allies than enemies.

"Don't pout. If it'll make you feel better, I'll give some Gryffindors detention." Draco said.

Pansy's face brightened and she nodded.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have some things to do."  He walked up to Professor Snape at the teacher's table and waited for Snape to acknowledge him.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Professor, I'd like to have a private word with you."

Draco furrowed his brow.  He had his suspicions that Snape was actually spying for Dumbledore but he wasn't sure.

How can he make sure, without calling unwanted attention to himself, that Snape was working for Dumbledore?  If Snape was loyal to Voldemort, then Snape would report Draco.

Snape nodded. "Very well, Draco.  Today stay after potions and you can speak to me then."

"Yes, sir.  Oh, and you wouldn't happen to know where Dumbledore is?"

"He went to his office 15 minutes ago."

A silence followed. "I'll see you." Draco said, turning away.

"Draco."

Draco stopped.

"Lucius Malfoy's death had been most unexpected.  When you have time, give my apologies to Mrs. Malfoy."

Draco nodded and continued to walk out of the Great Hall.  Snape obviously didn't mean what he said.  Appearances must be kept, after all. That applies to everyone.  Everything in his life is so fucking…**_fake_**.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

special thanks to phantasi, who keeps me writing!


	12. Choices which determine who we are

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing + distributing of the books.  
  
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC 

Rating: R (for future)

Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year.

I hope in the previous chapters, people have read what I put before each chapter, **that this fic will be somewhat of an alternate universe, because of the 5th Harry Potter book** (Order of the Phoenix).  I started this story on January 31, 2003 and so when the fifth book came out on June 21, 2003, I wasn't finished with the story.  **I decided to keep some things I read in the fifth book but also mainly take stuff from books 1 through 4 (for example: the sorting hat's warning that I built my sorting hat song on and ron being a prefect are from the fifth book)** Hope that clear things up a bit. And yes, I did read the fifth book. And I cried a lot too. ~sniff

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Lemon drops." Nothing happened.

"Sugar quills." Silence. {I can't believe how stupid this is!}

"Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, goddamn it, cockroach clusters!"

Draco crossed his arms and tapped his foot at the gargoyle.  {It's laughing at me. It's taunting me.} he thought angrily. "Look you miserable chunk of stone.  You better move and stop mocking me or else I'll-"

"I doubt the poor gargoyle deserves your anger, Draco."

Draco looked behind him and saw Dumbledore, with an amused expression.

"Dumbledore." He acknowledged with a nod.  "I need to speak with you," he glanced around and added, "privately."

"Very well, Draco." 

{It's **_Mr._** Draco Malfoy **now**, to you old man.} Draco kept his smirk from showing.

"Earwax." The gargoyle moved to allow them up to the office.

{Earwax? Are you shitting me…}

They entered the office in silence and Dumbledore gestured for Draco to have a sit in front of the Headmaster's table.

"You wished to have a word with me?"

Clearing his throat, Draco nodded.

"As you know, my father has past away.  He has left me everything and complete control of Malfoy finances, household, and affairs.

Dumbledore nodded.

Draco hesitated. Did he really want to do this?

"Look old man," at this Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, a corner of his mouth lifting up in amusement, "the Malfoy name has been cleared of all charges regarding the Dark Lord and the practice of the Dark arts."

"That's correct."

Clearing his throat, Draco glanced around nervously, as if Death eaters are going to jump out at him from any corner.  "My father did not die of an illness.  The Dark Lord killed him.  And it's all because my father did not successfully apprehend _Potter_." He spat out the name.  God, he hated Potter.

Dumbledore was silent.  He folded his hands as he leaned forward, suddenly solemn, eyes focused on Draco.  "It was the ball, wasn't it?"

Nodding, Draco continued. "I know you are wondering why I am telling you this, and so I'll get straight to the point.  I want revenge for my father.  I am willing to work with you and…_Potter_ against Voldemort."

A minute passed with a staring contest between Dumbledore and Draco.  Finally, Draco looked down and muttered, "Well, say _something_."

"This is quite unusual. I must admit I am at a lost for words."

Draco looked up and smirked habitually.  

"Draco, I hope this won't offend you, but I feel that the Veritaserum should-"

"Yes, of course. I understand." Draco interrupted swiftly.  Just because he is going to work with the old man doesn't mean he has to be courteous.  His gray eyes narrowed even as he gave his consent.  He hated when things aren't under his control.  Being under the Veritaserum meant he won't be aware of what he is saying. "For all you know, I could be coming to you with intentions of helping the Dark Lord."

"I appreciate your understanding."

"One question, Dumbledore."

"Yes?"

"Snape. Is he-"

"_Professor_ Snape, Draco.  We can discuss this after a meeting with Harry.  I'll send you both an owl."

Irritated that Dumbledore had returned the favor of interrupting his sentence, Draco curtly nodded and left.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"5 points from Gryffindor for Weasley's smart mouth."

Ron turned redder and Hermione groaned.  From Ron's inability to control his temper, the House lost 20 points so far in Potions today.  

"He acts like he has a blast-ended skrewt stuffed up his smelly arse.  No wonder Dumbledore won't give him the position of the DADA professor. He'll be flinging curses at us left and right." Ron muttered to Harry.

Hermione heard and gave Ron a stern look.  "Ron shut up before-"

"Since I can't be flinging curses at you, you best be watching what you drink from now on, Mr. Weasley."  Snape's quiet, silky voice interrupted.  Ron gulped and stared wide-eyed at the potions master.

Snape was silent for a moment, letting the red-haired teen become more and more uneasy, waiting for the sentence.

"Detention, Mr. Weasley. Tonight at 8pm, you will scrub the cauldrons."

Snape passed Neville's vacant spot and paused.  Then he turned away and went back up to his desk.  "Clean up now. Class is dismissed."

Chewing her bottom lip, Hermione glanced down at the paper she had gotten back earlier in class.  Cringing at the grade marked in red at the top of the paper, she decided to ask for some extra work from Snape.

She shuddered.  She had received a B! **B!** This would not do. Nope it would definitely have to change.  This grade HAS to go.

"I'll catch up with you guys later." Hermione said to Harry and Ron.  It was lunch right now so it didn't matter if she stayed after class or not.  Approaching the desk, Hermione found that Draco was there already.

"What are you doing here, Granger?"

"None of your business."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Let me guess. You probably got a mark on that essay that you aren't happy with and so, you want to beg for more work from Snape."

Miffed that he was right, Hermione pretended that she didn't hear him.

Draco smirked. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Hmmph.  At least I am motivated enough with my studies, unlike you…_boys_ who are preoccupied with girls, sleep, fights, sex, and more girls."

Hermione glanced at Draco, who looked offended. "What's wrong with thinking about girls and sex?"

"_I_ don't obsess over boys and sex."

"Does that mean you like girls? Damn, Granger, I didn't know-"

"Shut up, you prat. I'm straight ok?"

"Sure, Mudblood, whatever you say."

Hermione felt anger flare up in her and she stomped down onto Draco's foot.

"OW!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

"It's a fact, so why shouldn't I call you a Mudblood!?"

Pain exploded on Draco's left cheek.  Speechless, Draco looked back at Hermione, who was shaking her hand to get rid of the stinging feeling.  He raised a hand and rubbed his cheek.  

"Do you get some kind of sick pleasure out of slapping me!?" Draco said, narrowing his eyes.

"No! What is your head made of!? Bricks?! Oww…"

"What's going on here?" Both looked up at Professor Snape and pointed at each other simultaneously.

"He/She started it." They glared at each other and tried to speak again to defend themselves.

Snape held up a hand to silence them.

"40 points from Gryffindor for physically harming another student."

"But, Prof-"

Snape smiled coldly. "Ms. Granger, I am sure even you can see that Draco's left cheek has 5 red streaks on it. Should I add detention as well?"

Hermione fumed. "I apologize…Malfoy. I realize my wrongdoing Professor Snape." {How am I going to explain this to the rest of the Gryffindors?!}

"Now that's over with, what are you doing here after class, Ms. Granger?"

"Erm…Professor, you see, may I request some extra credit work from you to improve my grade?" Hermione said.  She heard Malfoy snicker and shot him a glare.

Snape moved his eyes down to the essay Hermione was clutching in her hands. "What, Ms. Granger? A B did not satisfy you? You should be grateful that I gave you such a high grade in the first place.  Your fellow Gryffindors were not so fortunate."

Hermione kept silent, her grip on the essay in her hands tightening.

"Very well, Ms. Granger. I will expect 2 rolls of parchment about the Mandrake Restorative Draft by the next class.  Besides the obvious, you must also remember to include how each individual ingredient contributes to the restorative properties of the draft.  If this assignment is satisfactory, then I'll…_consider_ raising the essay to a B+."

Deciding that a B+ is already a miracle coming from Snape, Hermione nodded and thanked him.  She shot a venomous look at Draco and left.

"Now, Draco, what did you want to talk about?"

{Ok…how do I start this?} (A/N: hmm I agree, Draco)

Draco first placed an Imperturbable Charm on the door to the classroom.  Snape frowned and gripped his wand tighter.  After all, this is Lucius Malfoy's son, the person the Dark Lord is counting on to be the right-hand man.  "What's with all the secrecy?"

Draco glanced back at Snape. "Relax.  I'm not going to attack you.  I just want to make sure if you work for the Dark Lord or not.  My father had mentioned you once or twice but I need to make sure for myself."

Snape took a step back from Draco and for the first time, was glaring at him.  "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Come on, Professor.  You can't lie to me about this.  The Dark Lord speaks of one of his followers at Hogwarts.  You were a Death Eater back then weren't you?  You must still be loyal to him."

Snape nodded hesitantly.  He'll agree and see where young Malfoy is going with this.

"I have to be sure, Professor Snape. Let me see your mark."

Snape flinched and narrowed his eyes at Draco.

"Draco Malfoy, you are in no position to give orders."

Draco sat down at a desk.  Damn it this is frustrating.  "I'm getting my mark at the end of this school year."

The irritated expression cleared away on Snape's face.  He just stared at Draco, as if Draco has sprouted tentacles.  "_This early!_?"

Draco nodded.  "Yes, I know that the earliest the mark is suppose to be given at the end of the 7th year at school."

"But…why?"

Draco shrugged. "I don't know.  He has been pressing the matter since I was in my 4th year.  My father hasn't agreed until he asked again a few months ago."

Snape made his decision and lifted up his robe sleeve to show Draco his forearm.

A scar in the shape of a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth was there.

Draco felt apprehension, looking upon the mark.  "How is it done?" he found himself asking.

"It is burned into you.  Not a normal branding, you must understand, Draco.  The Dark Lord puts one single drop of his blood onto the fresh mark, performs the Protean Charm…and you are his.  It can never be removed."

Draco shuddered.

"Thank you, Professor."  Draco gave Snape a nod and left the potions master deep in thought.

~*~*~*~*~

Dumbledore hummed to himself as he looked out the window, over the school grounds.  He watched the students walk around the lake, some chasing each other around, others reading a book.  He saw Draco sitting on a rock shaded by a tree overlooking the lake.  Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle accompanied him, though they wisely left him alone to think, sitting on the grass eating some snacks.   Dumbledore's mouth twitched and his eyes shone with hope at Draco.

"It is our choices which determine who we are."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	13. Before the Meeting

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing + distributing of the books.  
  
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC 

Rating: R (for future)

Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year.

~*~*~*~

That very night, the Veritaserum was administered to Draco in Dumbledore's office.  Besides Draco, only Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape were there.  Draco's suspicions about Snape spying for Dumbledore was confirmed and Snape was surprised to know that Draco is offering to do the same thing.  After the effects of the Veritaserum wore off, Draco had no idea what he had said, but from the looks on Dumbledore's and Snape's faces, he had been approved.

"Its best that you stay out of this, Draco." Snape advised.

"He killed my father."

"He killed many people, directly or indirectly.  I didn't see you gallivanting off to avenge them."

"They are none of my concern." Draco stated.

"Yet, the death of your father is enough to make you switch sides?  A little cold isn't it?"

"I'm a Slytherin, sir, as are you."

Snape fell silent after that.  Dumbledore cleared his throat. 

"Draco, as pleased as I am that another promising youth has join our side, I must remind you that the desire for revenge can be a good thing if utilized properly but if you allow this desire to embitter your heart, it will lead to dire consequences.  I've seen many who had fallen prey to a life of bitterness and emptiness."

Draco didn't respond.

"Do you understand me, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes, sir."

"Stay here while I send for Harry."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry scrawled out the last word for a Charms essay in a flourish, relieved that the assignment is done.  Slamming the book shut, he took off his glasses, stood up and stretched, his muscles aching after 2 hours of work.  Ron looked up enviously from his parchment and yawned.  "I still need 6 more inches till I'm done.  Do you think Flitwick will notice if I wrote a little bigger?"

"Yes he will, Ronald Weasley.  Professor Flitwick is short, not stupid.  If you had listened to me and did this last night, you would not be in this predicament. Keep on writing." Hermione remarked from her place across from Ron, not once looking up from the numerous thick books opened up around her and her parchments, where she was feverishly writing out her extra assignment from Snape.

Ron rolled his eyes and made a face at Hermione.

Hermione looked up something from one of the books and resumed writing.  "I saw that."

"Aww, 'Mione, at least look at me when you want to scold me."

Hermione chuckled and threw a leg from a leftover Chocolate Frog at Ron, who caught it gratefully and shoved it into his mouth.

Harry smiled, enjoying the presence of his two best friends.  They were sitting in front of the fireplace in the common room.  Since it was quite late, all the other Gryffindors had gone up to bed.  He sat back to relax into the squashy armchair and tried to clear his mind of all thoughts.  As he concentrated on the crackling of the fire, he drifted off.  The next thing he knew, Ron was asking him a question.

"Harry. Wakie-Up!"

"Hmm…what?" he murmured, slowly opening his eyes and looked at a slightly blurred image of Ron.  Realizing that he still had his glasses on the table, he decided not to put them on yet.  He found them annoying, and had always wished for contacts, but never voiced this to the Dursleys. 

Ron paused in his writing and looked up at Harry. "Did you apologize to Ginny yet?"

"Oh. Erm…" Harry suddenly felt queasy and shook his head.

Ron grinned. "Be afraid, Harry. Be very afraid.  Ginny is like a Howler. The longer you avoid it, the bigger the boom."

Harry stared at Ron for a moment then gulped.

Hermione laughed softly and reassured Harry. "Just be sincere, Harry.  Nothing works better than that.  I doubt she can stay mad at _you_ for a very long time."

Harry frowned. "What do you mean?"

Hermione just smiled and went back to her essay.  Harry could hear her muttering under her breath and he caught the words "boys" and "dense"

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Harry squinted towards the windows, where the sound was coming from but gave up with a sigh.  Putting his glasses back on, he walked over and realized it was an owl.  Letting the owl in, he untied the letter from its leg.  The owl hooted and took off.

_Harry,_

_Please come to my office at once.  Professor Snape will be at the gargoyle, awaiting your arrival.  Keep this note with you incase a teacher or Mr. Filch delays you._

_Professor Dumbledore_

Harry pocketed the letter and frowned.  What could Dumbledore possibly want to talk to him about this late into the night?

"What was that Harry?" He turned around and shrugged at Ron.  

"Dumbledore wants me in his office right now.  Don't wait up."

Hermione frowned.  "We'll be right here, waiting for you to come back."

Harry gave her a small smile and left through the portrait hole.


	14. Not Friends, but Allies

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing + distributing of the books.  
  
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC 

Rating: R (for future)

Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year.

~*~*~*~

Harry walked back to the Gryffindor Tower so deep in thought; he didn't notice Peeves circling above his head, shouting offensive phrases at him. 

**~Flashback~**

_Harry stared at Malfoy.  He couldn't believe it. Draco Malfoy, Mr Boucing-Ferret, is going to work for the Order? "Sir, are you sure?" Harry asked. He knew without looking that disbelief and doubt was etched into his facial expression._

_Dumbledore nodded. "Draco has been tested with the Veritaserum."_

_Malfoy had stood to the side with an emotionless mask on with Professor Snape behind him, his gray eyes focused on the scene before him._

_"Draco's help, combined with Professor Snape's, would be invaluable to the Order.  Harry, I have called you here tonight to tell you this only because I do not wish for the enmity between the two of you continue when you are fighting on the same side.  I understand that in public, the act must continue in order to keep people from being suspicious, but in private, I would hope you two will be able work together."_

_Harry pressed his lips together and a frown appeared.  Malfoy had made his friends and himself suffer for the last 5-6 years and to suddenly change his opinion about him is hard.  But a sudden image of Sirius and Snape bickering over the pettiest thing flashed in his mind and he realized how childish it would seem._

_He looked over at Malfoy, trying to see into the Slytherin's head, to see if there's any tricks.  But Malfoy just calmly stared back. _

_Dumbledore chuckled, looking delighted. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Remember that, boys. Lemon drops, anyone?"_

_Professor Snape gave Dumbledore a look as if to decide whether or not the man was insane._

_Draco raised an eyebrow at Harry and sneered. "**Friend** is too strong a word, don't you think, Potter? Just…consider me an ally."_

_"Don't worry, Malfoy, I don't want to be your friend either." Harry replied, the beginnings of a faint smile on his lips._

_Walking over to stand in front of Malfoy, Harry hesitated for a moment, and then slowly, he held his right hand up._

_Malfoy had also hesitated, but then he swiftly took Harry's offered hand and shook it firmly.  Suddenly, their adjoined hands glowed a silver color and both stared down at their hands.  Professor Snape quickly pulled Draco back, with an alarmed expression on his face.  Dumbledore stood up quickly with a thoughtful expression._

_"Headmaster what-" Snape trailed off when Dumbledore raised a hand for silence._

_"It's okay, Severus. No harm done. Harry, Draco, don't worry about what just happened.  I have an idea why that just happened but I need to double-check to be sure.  For now, go back to your rooms and rest."_

_Harry nodded, hand still tingling from the glow.  _

_"Potter. Your scar…its-" Malfoy just stared at Harry's forehead._

_Harry quickly looked around for a mirror.  Spotting one on the wall, he walked over and gaped at himself. His scar was outlined in a silver glow, shimmering and then slowly fading away until he looked normal again.  Harry touched his scar and found nothing unusual.  It didn't hurt at all; he didn't even realize it until Malfoy told him._

_"I'm not glowing unnaturally anywhere am I?" Draco asked nervously, looking down at himself.  Dumbledore smiled. "No, Draco, since you don't have a mark on you…"_

_It didn't make much sense but the three younger men just accepted that answer for the moment.  Dumbledore discloses information in his own way, his own time.  They would know the answers soon._

_Draco left first; Harry wanted to say hi to Fawkes before leaving.  Stroking the bird's head, Fawkes sang a few notes, making Harry smile.  _

_"Harry, its best that no one else knows about Draco but you.  As of now, only Professor Snape, you, Draco, and myself are aware of this situation.  But I feel that if Miss. Granger and Mr. Weasley are informed…no harm will be done.  But no one else, do you understand, Harry? The more people who know about this, the more Draco's life is at risk.  I trust the three of you to keep silent about this." Dumbledore said, looking straight into Harry's eyes._

_"Yes, sir. I understand." Harry said solemnly, and left._

**~Flashback ends~**

Nearing the portrait of the Fat Lady, Peeves cackled evilly and launched into a new song.

**_His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,_**

**_His hair is as dark as a blackboard._**

**_I wish he was mine, he's really divine,_**

**_The hero who conquered the Dark Lord._******

For some unknown reason, Harry flushed and decided it was the memory of the embarrassment he endured on Valentine's Day back in his second year that had his heart beating a bit faster and his face heating up.  "Sod off, Peeves." He grumbled at the poltergeist, who was already floating away, in hysterics.

"Fidens Animus." 

He walked into the common room and saw that Ron and Hermione were finished with their work and were now playing chess to pass the time.

"Hey." He said, flopping onto a squashy couch and lying down to rest.

"Harry! What happened?" Hermione said, rushing over to sit next to his head.  Ron put away the chess pieces and came over, kneeling on the floor next to Harry.

Closing his eyes, Harry told them what had happened in Dumbledore's office and also gave them Dumbledore's warning about keeping silent.

Ron looked like he wanted to smack himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming while Hermione's eyes glazed over as she got lost in her thoughts.

Harry yawned and got up.  Taking his books from the table, he started up the boy's staircase.  "Come on, just go sleep.  We're all too tired to think about this right now." 

His friends agreed and gathered their own books. 

"G'night, Harry.  G'night, Ron." Hermione said as she went up the girl's staircase.

"G'night, 'Mione." The boys replied.

~*~*~*~*~


	15. Nightmares and Lessons

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing + distributing of the books.  
  
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC 

Rating: R (for future)

Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year.

A/N: Since it's after their O.W.L.S, I know that the 6th year students start picking the courses they want to take and they are all N.E.W.T level classes. So here are their courses (not necessarily in any special order).

**Harry**: _N.E.W.T._ Charms

  _N.E.W.T._ Transfigurations

  _N.E.W.T._ Defense Against the Dark Arts

  _N.E.W.T._ Potions

**Ron**: _N.E.W.T._ Care of Magical Creatures

_        N.E.W.T._ Charms

        _N.E.W.T._ Defense Against the Dark Arts

        _N.E.W.T._ Potions

**Hermione**: Occlumency taught by Snape

_N.E.W.T._ Arithmacy__

_N.E.W.T._ Charms

_N.E.W.T._ Potions

_N.E.W.T._ Transfigurations

_N.E.W.T._ Defense Against the Dark Arts

**Draco**: Legilimency taught by Snape

Occlumency taught by Snape

_N.E.W.T_ Charms

_N.E.W.T._ Potions

_N.E.W.T._ Defense Against the Dark Arts

_N.E.W.T._ Transfigurations

~*~*~*~ 

**Charms**

"Hey, Malfoy." Harry muttered as he passed Draco's desk.  Ron and Hermione stared at Draco, waiting to see what will happen.

Harry found himself the victim of a Banishing Charm, which sent him across the room slamming him backwards into his chair.

"Harry! Are you okay?" Ron asked, quickly striding over.

"I'm okay.  Nothing was hurt, 'cept my pride." Harry said, glaring at Malfoy.

Hermione pursed her lips in disapproval while Malfoy smirked.

~*~*~*~

**Double Transfigurations**

Harry had barely managed to scrape an 'Exceeds Expectations' on his Transfigurations O.W.L.s and got into Professor McGonagall's N.E.W.T. class. In order to stay in this course, he has to maintain this grade.  Today they were only taking notes on Conjuring Spells.  Ron was outside in Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid. 

{Lucky bloke.} Harry thought, stifling a yawn.  Adjusting his glasses, Harry looked back down and concentrated on writing. 

Hermione paused in her note taking to glance at Malfoy, who was sitting in the back of the room.  Being the type of person who always chose seats in the front of the classroom, Hermione gave him a frown before turning back around to continue her work.

~*~*~*~

**Defense Against the Dark Arts**

"Harry, Ron, I'll talk to him.  Don't interfere, no matter what, okay?" Harry and Ron nodded reluctantly.

"Malfoy." Hermione said, cautiously reaching out and tapping his shoulder.  The students were waiting in the hall for Professor Lupin to arrive and were excited at the prospect of taking DADA at a N.E.W.T. level.

His shoulder jerked as if something burned him and Draco quickly turned around.  "Granger." He acknowledged.

"Harry told Ron and I." She said in a low voice.

Draco looked exasperated with her and glanced around to see if anyone was looking at them.

"Look Granger, if I'm dead, I won't be of any use to your precious Order. So shut up."

Hermione was at a loss of words and gave him an equally exasperated expression.

Raising her voice, she said loudly. "Your insults are so old, Malfoy.  Can't you think of something new over the summer?"

Draco didn't know whether he should curse her or throttle her.  If the Dream Team was annoying before, they are doubly so now.  Can't they just leave him _alone_?!

Raising his voice to be heard by anyone who was listening, he replied, "I don't want to waste my energy thinking up insult for a lowly Mudblood like you."

Hermione gasped and raised a hand to slap him but right before her hand made contact, his fingers had her wrist in a firm grip that guaranteed that she won't get away but didn't hurt her.

He dragged her closer to his body and leaned in to talk to her.  To someone watching, it looked like he was threatening her up close.

What he really said was, "I cannot change how I act towards Potty, Weasel, and you around other people.  I thought you were smart, Granger! Don't you understand it would arouse suspicions?"

Hermione felt her anger recede a little but she still glared up into his eyes.  "I understand that, Malfoy.  Dumbledore had already warned us about public appearances. But you can just be a bit more civil you know."

"Is there a problem here?" Hermione and Draco looked up to see a frowning Professor Lupin.

Letting go of Hermione's wrist, Draco smoothed out his robes and said casually.  "Nothing, sir."

"Hermione?" Professor Lupin asked, looking worried for the girl.

Giving him a smile, Hermione shook her head. "It's nothing, Professor Lupin.  Malfoy was just being a stupid prat."

And with that, Hermione 'accidentally' shoved Malfoy in the shoulder as she stepped around him to enter the classroom.

~~~

Walking through the hall after dinner, Draco was relieved he didn't have to deal with Potter and his sidekicks until tomorrow.  Right now, he is going to Professor Snape's office to have his first Occlumency and Legilimency lesson.  

In order to be able to spy for the Order and lie to Voldemort, Draco needed to be able to shut out his emotions and memories that contradict whatever lie he would be telling Voldemort and utter falsehoods in Voldemort's presence without being detected (Occlumency). Draco would also need to be able to tell if people were concealing information from him, or lying to him (Legilimency).

Voldemort is highly skilled in Legilimency, almost always knows when somebody is lying to him.  If Draco goes on being untrained, he would be dead the moment he appears before Voldemort.

Professor Dumbledore assured Draco that Professor Snape is one of the best Occlumens there is in the wizarding world, which is why Voldemort has never detected Professor Snape's unfaithfulness.

(Occlumency and Legilimency will be properly explained at the end of the chapter, within the Author's Notes.)

Entering Professor Snape's office, Draco was surprised to see Hermione sitting in there already.

"Granger?"

Hermione turned to look at him and gave a small smile.

"Hey. I had asked Professor Dumbledore if there were any extra courses that I could take that would benefit me.  He recommended for me to take Occlumency with you. Honestly, I was surprised Professor Snape finally gave in and agreed to teach me Occlumency.  From what I read, this is a very difficult course and rarely taught."

"What about Legilimency?" Draco asked curiously.

Hermione looked disappointed. "Oh. Professor Snape told Professor Dumbledore that he was already being generous, agreeing to teach me Occlumency.  I guess Professor Snape won that argument.  And so, I'm only here for the first half of the lesson.  It's still a great opportunity though.  This subject is fascinating, don't you think?"

Sitting down in another chair, Draco shrugged.

Professor Snape came in at that moment and glared at Hermione, dislike plain on his face.

"I will let you know right now that I will not tolerate any of your know-it-all business here, do you understand that Miss. Granger?  I am here to teach Draco something that will save his life when the time comes and since the Headmaster asked, I am generously allowing you to learn Occlumency with us." Snape said softly, his dark eyes glittering at her.

The prospect of learning something new and difficult prevented Hermione's mood from being dampened and she nodded.

…45 mins later…

"Miss. Granger, the Occlumency portion of the lesson is over.  I'll see you back here next Tuesday.  You are to practice clearing your mind of all emotion every night before going to sleep, do you understand?"

Hermione pulled herself off the floor, heart pounding. 

"Y-yes, Professor."

It was embarrassing that Professor Snape was able to see so much of her memories but she did _try_ to clear her mind.  Once, she even managed through her confusion to throw a weak, albeit successful Disarming Spell at Professor Snape.  The world was a mix of memories and reality, slowing down her thought process and logic.

Giving the exhausted Draco a small wave, she picked up her schoolbag and left the office.

As she closed the door, she heard "Now, that the Granger girl's gone, we will start on Legilimency."

Draco's groan following that statement made Hermione smile in amusement.

~~~~

The words in the textbook kept blurring and a Ginny felt the beginnings of a migraine.  Rubbing her temple, she sighed as she looked up to glance around the Common Room.   She sat in a deserted corner of the room, for that way, no one intrudes on her studying or thinking time.  Sometimes, she would change her seat and sit with Harry, Ron, and Hermione in front of the fireplace but now after she snapped at Harry the other day…

The headache increased and she closed her eyes to rest a little.  It was O.W.L. year for her and even though school had just started, her homework load was enormous.  Her brothers were not exaggerating when they told her about 5th year.

"Ginny?"

Opening her eyes, she saw Harry standing in front of her.  Rubbing her temple again, she gestured for him to sit in the chair next to her.

"What do you want, Harry?"

Harry looked nervous and he kept avoiding her eyes.

"Er…you see, well- that is, Ginny, I'm sorry about the other day.  You were right," He gave a little smile, "I always hated how people judge me by my last name or my scar.  I shouldn't have been so against Vera Pettigrew when I did not even know the girl."

Heart clenching at the sight of Harry, Ginny felt a rush of relief as he apologized.  She had regretted her outburst the other day but didn't know how to approach Harry.

"Oh Harry, don't be sorry.  I should be the one apologizing for my unreasonable outburst."

"No, no, you were right, I am sorry."

"No, _I'm_ sorry."

"_No_, I'M sorry."

There was a pause and then both of them started laughing.

"So, we're okay?" Harry said, making sure.

"Yes, Harry."  Ginny said and then winced at the severity of her headache.

"Are you okay, Ginny?" Harry leaned in worriedly, feeling Ginny's forehead.  "You don't have a fever… I think the pressure is already getting to you.  Go rest."

Giving Harry a smile, Ginny nodded and picked up her books.

"G'night Harry."

"G'night Ginny."

Ginny couldn't stop smiling as she flopped back onto her bed.  That was another encounter with Harry that she'll never forget! She fell asleep with a smile on her face.

_"Noooo!!!"_  A voice echoed in her mind.  Faintly in the distance, she saw somebody hanging from a wall, screaming and yanking against the chains.  A dark-cloaked figure stood in front of the boy and was laughing. _"It's done!"_

Moaning, Ginny clutched her head and curled up in a fetal position as she woke up.  The nightmares kept coming back.  They won't go away! She never told anyone what she dreamt about, everyone just assumed that she was always having nightmares about Tom Riddle, but…over the years, she dreamt other horrible stuff.  Things that she wasn't sure if was real or not.  This dream has been occurring since July and just wouldn't go away.  In her second year, she had dreams of wolves howling, dogs growling and a creature being beheaded.  In her third year, she had nightmares about Tom Riddle of course, but there were other ones…ones with gravestones and big cauldrons.  There were yells and someone with lifeless gray eyes staring into nothing.  Maybe she's going crazy. 

~~~~

"It's done!" Voldemort laughed, a maniac gleam in his eyes.

Neville hung before him, eyes dull and empty.  The memory charms that had been placed on him were broken one by one, leaving him with the onslaught of the memory that was once blocked in his mind.

**~Flashback~**

_A baby's cries filled the air.  A man placed him into a dark corner and a big couch was moved in front of the baby, hiding him from view.  A Silencing Charm was placed in the corner and a woman tearfully looked down at the baby._

_"Neville…my baby…" she sobbed, placing a kiss on his forehead._

_"Be good. Be good, my baby. Keep it safe. I know you don't understand me…but keep it safe." With that, she quickly got up and disappeared from view._

_A few minutes later, a deafening crash resounded through the house and for a moment, all was silent.  Then the screams started.  The screams continued into the night and it wasn't until the sky started to lighten when more crashes were heard and the screaming stopped.  The house swarmed with people and finally, the couch was shoved aside by a frantic couple.  A woman with flowing red hair and green eyes accompanied by a man with black messy hair looked down at the baby, who was exhausted from crying.  The Silencing Charm was lifted and the woman picked up the baby, gently rocking him while tears ran down her face._

_"Alice…Frank…" she cried, hugging the baby tightly in her arms._

**~Flashback Ends~**

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Neville yelled, pulling weakly against his restraints.

Voldemort just laughed with triumph, knowing that he is now one step closer to finding the key to the death of the Boy-Who-Lived and the death of those who were destined to defeat him.

End of Chapter

~*~*~

A/N: Legilimency is the ability to extract emotions and memories from another person's mind. In the 5th book, to Harry, this seems exactly like 'mind-reading', to Professor Snape, a practitioner of Legilimency, there are fine distinctions between what Muggles call 'mind-reading' and Legilimency. Someone who practices Legilimency is known as a Legilimens. 

Quote From the 5th book:

_"Only Muggles talk of 'mind reading.'  The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader.  The mind is a complex and many-layered thing, Potter…or at least, most minds are…"-Severus Snape_

Legilimency is easier when the spell-caster is physically near the target and as Professor Snape says, _"Eye contact is often essential to Legilimency."_

Occlumency is the art of sealing the mind "against magical intrusion and influence", making Occlumency the defensive counter to Legilimency.   
  
Occlumency is a necessary skill in order to get by a Legilimens' lie-detector abilities without arousing suspicion.

"We are going to see how well you resist.  I have been told that you have already shown aptitude at resisting the Imperius Curse…you will find that similar powers are needed for this."-Severus Snape

Professor Snape is revealed to be both a Legilimens and an Occlumens in the 5th book, and is in fact better at Occlumency than Voldemort is at Legilimency, which is how he has survived in his difficult role of spy among the Death Eaters for so long.

In the 5th book, it was Harry that received the Occlumency lessons, but in my story, that never happened.  Draco and Hermione are the ones receiving the Occlumency lessons.


End file.
